Grain door for railway cars



Jan 12 1926.

llliumnm lliilmmu 1,569,029 H. 1.. POWER GRAIN DOOR FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed April 21, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IIIHHIH I [lllllll I LNVENTUE I AT ' Jan. 12 1926.

I H. L. POWER GRAIN DOOR FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed April 21, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTUR HQfT dwe/v.

Patented Jan. 12, 1926.

* UNITED STATES PATENT" OFFICE.

GRAIN DOOR FOB RAILWAY GARSJ Application filed April 21, 1922.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY L. POWER, of the city of Brandon, in the Province of Manitoba, Canada, a subject of the King of Great Britain have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain Doors for Railway Cars, of which the following is a specification. 'This invention relates to the doors em- 10 p'loyed to close the doorways in railway box cars used for the shipment of grain, and my object is to devise a strong, simple and easily constructed door which will permit of the easy loading of the car and which itself is readily opened, despite the pressure of the grain, when the car is to be unloaded.

-I attain my object by means of the constructions hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation showing my improved grain door in position;

Fig. 2 a vertical section of the same on the line 2-2 in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 a longitudinal section of the same on the line 33 in Fig. 1, part of the door being broken away to show the lower rollers.

Fig. 1 is a horizontal section on the line -fl1f of Fig. 1, this section being on a larger scale and partly broken away to show the flange guide; and

' Fig. 5 a detail view showing the sliding latch on the edge of the door.

In the drawings like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

1 is a box car provided with the usual doorway. At the upper side of the doorway is formed a track 2 of any type ordinarily employed for sliding doors, and channeled to IQCQlX'G the top of the door. The door is formed of an angle bar frame 3 filled in with Wooden panel-ling 4, which extends about half way up the door, leaving an opening adjacent the top through which the car may be filled. This opening may be closed by the door 5, which is formed of metal and is adapted to slide in guides 6 formed at the sides of the opening. This door is lowered during the filling of the car through the door, but is raised before the grain reaches the lower side of the opening when the car is being filled. When fully raised its upper edge fits behind the Serial No. 555,910.

depending flange 32 secured to the door which serves to exclude the weather.

The upper edge of the door frame 3 is provided with roller hangers 10 engaging on the track 2. A flanged guide 11 is secured to the car crossing the bottom of the doorway within which the lower edge of the door slides and the bottom of the door is provided with rollers 24 adapted to en gage the outer side of the guide 11 to reduce the friction 'due to outward pressure on the door. A hook-shaped bracket 12 is secured to the side of the car remote from the doorway to hold the door in position close to the side of the car when it is slid back from the doorway.

The frame 3 at the rear side of the door is formed with a hook shaped flangev 25 adapted when the door is closed to fit under a hook shaped flange 26 secured to the side of the doorway and thus prevent the escape of grain.

The door 4. is provided with one or more loop-shaped handles 8 by means of which it may be operated and with hinged hasps 27 adapted, when the door is closed, to fit over the eyes 28 on the door frame after which sealing wires may be secured through the eyes. The door 5 is operated by means of a bar 7 secured to the door and having a handle 9 formed at its lower end. A slotted lug 13 is formed on the bar 7, which is adapted to spring over an eye 14 secured to the main door and provided with a sliding pin 15 which may be dropped into the eye after the slotted lug 13 has been engaged therewith, thus locking the handle against accidental derangement.

To enable the door to be opened despite the great pressure of grain within the car, I provide the following means. A bar 16 is secured at one end to the door. This bar slides through a suitable guide 17 secured to the car. 011 this guide is pivoted a hand lever 18, the upper end of which carries a pawl member 19 adapted to engage any one of a series of holes 20 formed in the bar 16. By engaging the pawl with a convenient hole and operating the lever, a limited movement is imparted to the door. The pawl may then be disengaged and the hand lever shifted to enable the pawl to engage a fresh hole, when further movement may be imparted to the door. The door is completely opened by a repetition of the above movements. A

spring 31 tends to press the pawl member towards the bar.

The door may be forced towards the closed position by swinging the pawl member 19 over to the other side of the lever and operating as before, the lever, of course, on its operating stroke moving in the reverse direction. Notches 29 on the guide 17 facilitate the swinging of the pawl member from one position to another, the point of the pawl end being adapted to swing through these notches.

The front edge of the door when it is closed, fits behind the flange 30 secured to the side of the door opening and thus prevents the escape of grain.

The door may be fastened when closed by means of a sliding latch 21 supported on the door and adapted to engage a suitable hole in the guide 11. The latch may be held in its engaged position by means of the swinging lock 22, which may be held in position by an ordinary sealed wire. A ring 23 is also secured to the door by means of a suitable eye adjacent the latch 21 and by means of this ring the door may be pulled open at the terminal elevator.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A grain door for railway oars suitably supported to slide transversely of the doorway; a bar secured to one end of the door, having a series of longitudinally arranged holes formed therein; a guide on the side of the car, through which the bar passes, said guide having a longitudinal slot exposing the face of said bar; a lever pivoted on the side of the car; and a pawl loosely pivoted on one end of the lever, said pawl being guided by the sides of said slot and adapted to engage the holesin the bar.

2. A grain door for railway cars suitably supported to slide transversely of the doorway; a bar secured to one end of the door, having a series of longitudinally arranged holes formed therein; a guide on the side of the car, through which the bar passes, said guide having a longitudinal slot exposing the face of said bar; a lever pivoted on the side of the car; a pawl loosely pivoted.

on one end of the lever, said pawl being guided by the sides of said slot and adapted to engage the holes in the bar; a flat spring tending to press the pawl member towards the bar; and notches on each end of the guide through which the projecting portion of the pawl may be swung.

Signed at Brandon this 8th day of April, 1922.

HENRY L. POWER. 

